Editorial: Are Games Gay Enough?

Kombo writes:

Who would have thought that it would take an optional mission in a random game to get me thinking about the state of homosexual characters in today's games, but it seems that's precisely what happened. You see, the other day I was tromping about in Fable II when I happened across a random farm in the countryside. Like most regions in Fable, the kindly proprietor of the farm had a task for me, one which I took on with much relish. You see, the farmer was concerned about his son, a strapping young man who had yet to find that special lady with whom he would carry on the family name. Our friend of the earth asked me to go into the city and find a proper date for his boy, a gal who could make the surprisingly eligible bachelor happy. I took on the task, but figured it would be wise to chat with the young man first, as this all seemed a bit odd.

Sure enough, when I mentioned the task to the farmer's son he immediately got nervous and began to stumble and stammer. This boy had a secret, and I was beginning to understand exactly what it was. I decided to head off into town and woo a villager for this lovelorn soul, and I did exactly that, and he was a fine gentleman indeed. That's right, though the random NPC in the sidequest never said the words out loud, the boy was gay, and he had been trapped living a lie for a long, long time.

After finding the date and returning to the farm, I witnessed what was a rather tender moment between father and son, as the boy opened up to his dad about his hidden feelings and his father reacted first with genuine shock, then acceptance and understanding. While it may be the sort of outing homosexual individuals hope for when they finally decide to break the news, things rarely work out so calmly. All in all, it was a surprisingly touching moment for a game which up to that point had allowed me to wantonly kill villagers; loot and pillage till my pockets were overflowing and generally be all sorts of a bastard. I had never expected Fable to teach me a lesson in matters of human sexuality, and it got me thinking.

[UnSelf]

and it got me thinkin ima stay away from ur site bro

[joeyda]

Why's that? Homophobic?

Solid article.

[gw4k]

Powertesties should have his own blog. Haha You made a killer point. Good work. Bubble for you. Non offense, just a good point being made.

[incogneato]

Agreed. I'm sure now that this has been revealed there will be a gay rights march held for the poor virtual boy. Kombo = lol. Pathetic.

[SRU9600]

This may come as a shock to a lot of people, but some of us do not wish to offend God, so please excuse us if we don't celebrate a lifestyle that He Himself has told us to avoid.

I accept what the Bible says as truth, so I will not jump on the "isn't being gay awesome?!!!" bandwagon.

If that makes me "homophobic" in most people's eyes, then so be it.
Pleasing God matters most to me.

[thereapersson]

LOL!!!!!!!!! Bubbles for that comment!

[Scotracer]

So you believe that the earth is only a few thousand years old, that dinosaurs and man lived together, that God created light before he created the stars to give us it, that there was a talking snake, that women were created from a man's rib, that there is a invisible person listening to you and talking to you (sounds like an imaginary friend to me) at all times and other such nonsensical rubbish? Well if that's so, your opinion on anything means nothing to me and a great deal of others (I'd hope).

[SRU9600]

"Well if that's so, your opinion on anything means nothing to me and a great deal of others (I'd hope)"

It's not my opinion that you need to be worried about. ; )

[Scotracer]

I know it's not, it's the opinion of the most powerful person on earth (who is openly religious). Will Zeus/Buddha/Thor/Yahweh/[enter whichever fictional deity you believe in] have mercy on us all.

Religion is the biggest mental illness on this planet and must be eradicated.

(yes, btw I am bi)

[PooEgg]

Wake up people, god loves gay people just as much as he loves straight people. God isn't a homophobe. I am so tired of people making God sound like some horrible hateful being.

What gives you or the church the right to judge another person? In fact doesn't the bible your so familiar with teach you better? Seriously, the people going to hell will be the hate mongers, not the gays.

And guess what, I am not even gay, but I can't stand people who use God as an excuse to act like jerks.

[Sarcasm]

"Lance huh? Well you look Lance in the eyes and just say... WTF did you just say Lance?"

[SullyDrake]

There's always Enchanted Arms.

[Saint Sony]

You say you are straight and you know things like this?.. er...how?

[Death]

Does this make me gay? The act of homosexuality is an abomination in Gods eye. At the same time sin is sin with none weighing more than another. A straight person lusting after his neighbors wife is no better than a couple guys bumpin uglies. If sin is sin and all sin is forgiven to those that accept Christ's sacrifice, then what is the problem? You can be a Christian and be gay. The life style might not make God smile, but at the same time no sin does. Christ does not persecute homosexuals, man does that. Christ loves us all equally, even those that choose not to believe in Him.

-Death

[SRU9600]

PooEgg, if your comments are directed at me, please note that I did not call anyone names (I can't say the same for you, however).

I do not hate gay people and I do not wish to see them harmed.

I simply accept that God does not find their actions acceptable. Just like I accept that He does not find stealing, murder and adultery acceptable.

Some people (like myself) are not willing to excuse any and all behaviour just so that we will be called "tolerant" and "open-minded" by people like yourself.

[Xi]

there's your problem.

Tolorence isn't a lable, it's an action and mindset. If people started spouting sterotypes about Xians in real life, like they do about gay people, how would you feel? Oh right, the majority rarely feels the pains of the minority. Imagine if a close family member came out, would you no longer love or care about that person? no longer tolerate their existence? Would you label them as the a sinner, and claim them as not being equal to you?

Tolerance is about putting human beings first, and everything second.

Edit- by claiming that homosexuality is a sin, you infer that the actions of said sin will cause those which commit it, enternance into hell. Based on the dichotomy of religion, you're either good/bad, therefore you indirectly call all homosexuals 'bad', not only that, you call all people who tolerate it bad.

And yes, you don't have any right to judge a human being, thats not up to your discrestion, afteral you're not a god nor a court, and you don't carry that responsability.

[SRU9600]

I said none of those things, Xi.

My use of the word "tolerant" was not a literal one. I am speaking of the "how dare you judge another human being" definition of tolerance that is so prevalent in today's society.

Oh, and good job spouting off about tolerance while using the offensive term "Xians" in your post. lol

[Xi]

It's shorthand and holds no negative connotations. It's the equivelent of saying gay, instead of homosexual. It seems like you're being hypersensative to invoke sympathy, not to mention you're deviating from the concerns I posted. Nice try playing the 'victim' card.

[SRU9600]

If you are going to use inflammatory terms for Christians you need to be prepared for the criticism, Xi.

You and I both know that Xian is not "the equivelent of saying gay", it is the offensive act of taking "Christ" out of the word Christian. (despite the nonsense stating otherwise).

Trying to play innocent just makes you look small.

Tolerance goes both ways, you know...

[TapiocaMilkTea]

"Also, for homosexuals, may I suggest a Nintendo Wii? You will love all the games on that system!"

hm....I suggest sticking with the PS3 for the best Final Fantasy experience instead.

[JD_Shadow]

1. Since you're with a Christian viewpoint, I also assume you're American as well. Thus, do you also think that humanity and being American first (which basically means having the same rights and privileges as the person next to you has) should win over anything that any bible will tell you? There IS freedom of religion in this country, after all.
2. Do you have any idea what the Bible you're speaking of is (no offense intended, though, since not many people particularly know or even think about any of this when reading the Bible, no offense intended towards any of THEM, either)? It's something that was found centuries ago (I can't recall off the top of my head when exactly it was they found these testaments). It was in all Greek (on tablets, though, again, I might not be completely accurate), and the text needed to be translated to find out what it actually said. During that time, a lot of the words that were used (the old way of speaking during that time) were the type in which we today will never truly find the real meanings or translations of. Thus, when someone goes to translate the text of the Holy Bible, they must use context clues as to what they translated earlier on in a verse in order to find out what the meaning of a word or group of them that they don't have the true translation of actually is. It's because of this that the Bible is not completely accurate in its translations (why do you think we have several versions like the KJV and the NIV now with new editions printed every so often?). Plus, some translators can have their own beliefs get in the way of what they translate a certain phrase (when they can get away with it, of course). There are also certain priests who are so homophobic that they will switch Bible versions in order to find the version that is most condemning version of a certain scripture that would condemn homosexuality. There are a lot of things that should be considered there.

And ABOUT those verses. There are a few things you might also want to consider. The famed story of Sodom happened because of inhospitably (Lot gave up those angels to prostitution), homosexuality had nothing to do with it. There's even a scripture later on in the Old Testament (whose rules became obsolete with the finding of the New Testament, which kills the Leviticus thing, as well) that actually tells what Lot's crime was: Inhospitably (forget which Book in the OT it was, but trust me, it's in there). In the NT, Paul's words have been misused to condemn nearly EVERY minority in history. However, no one bothers to check Peter II, in which Peter warns everyone to not take Paul's words literally, and to be careful about how much one can read into what Paul says. The book after Paul's (which has another verse that is viewed to condemn homosexuality) is actually a case of the translation issues I mentioned above (there's a few words that really get mangled during such, and some other words whose translations will never be found).

As such, even if someone were a Christian, there are also several things one must consider. Despite what some may say, the translators are not "sent by God".

If you want to know more about THAT entire debate (yes, there IS a HOTLY contested debate about what the Bible actually says about homosexuality), there's a very good website called Religious Tolerance. They talk about all religions and hot button issues, with homosexuality being one of them (here's the starting page for the section: http://www.religioustoleran... . They bring up some very good points for both sides).

Okay, THIS gamer's brain has been working in overdrive tonight, has it? (Talking about mine, of course).

[InMyOpinion]

God says whatever you want God to say. If you want to use God to defend your ignorance, kill innocent people (infidels/heathens) or just as a way to opress in general it's all possible thanks to personal interpretation. Read in whatever you like. Religion is a way of controlling weak minds.

Movie tip: http://www.imdb.com/title/t... Funny yet shocking.

And here's Ted Haggard, former president of the National Association of Evangelicals, until he was caught taking methamphetamine and fornicating with men that is.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[aubradley]

It's unfortunate that gay characters get such a bum rap in games, you'd think such a cutting edge industry would be more willing to push the envelope when it comes to social matters.

[MattyF]

That's because being gay is still awkward in society. If people think you are gay in public setting they'll stare at you and mock you. My friend dressed at David Bowie this Halloween and looked gay as him. So many people looked at him with eyes of disgust. We found it funny and he played into the role. People aren't ready to "accept" homosexual situations into their everyday lives.

[TheExodus]

@Powertesties: Sounds like football, no?

[Bubble Buddy]

A Neil Patrick Harris game soon? He's immortal so the respawning actually makes sense.

[TheTwelve]

...isn't how I define the quality of a game. Sorry.

12

[PotNoodle]

Had some rather homosexual elements to it, even if they were not intentional :D

[TheTwelve]

Only if you're looking real hard for it...

12

[heyheyhey]

MGS touches on EVERY social issue

[PotNoodle]

I've played through all the metal gear solid games in the main series at least 15 times each, i'm bound to notice things like that :P

[mercenarie]

children lol no offense but if the gays want to be accepted in society then they should stop trying to shove their sexual interests in peoples lives and forms of entertainmen.. besides who would actually play a game with a homosexual male lead character that has sex with every guy he comes across or shares his own detailed sexual stories? not me.

[shyam152007]

...Or lack thereof.

[Xi]

I've always considerd a V for vendetta game would be fun to play...

Doubt there would be much details of anything regarding sex, more or less thief 3 but with throwing knives and in a newlian setting.

[PooEgg]

FYI - a whole lot of females in the world would actually enjoy the game you mention alot... ever hear of yaoi?

The world is overpopulated as it is. So whats the problem? ; )

[Unicron]

Once society gets over itself....

[Eiffel]

There are some games out there that can appeal to the gay community.

Currently the only game I know of where you can marry another man or women is fable.

If anyone remembers a certain character from GTA IV?

Bernie.

But in all honestly I don't think it really matters if you're gay or not to enjoy a game.

[DNAgent]

I mean Halo is gay which is why I think a lot of "gay"mers are on XBL.

[Diugu]

I dont actually think it is gay but maybe it is a game gay people enjoy, the enviroments and all. Also Gears with those steroid people runing around...

MGS4 definately touches the subject but I believe it is in a more social level. Just bringing it into perspective.

Hell, I dont know. I think this has nothing to do with the quality of a game though.

EDIT: Also Fable II.. you can marry a man or a woman in that game.

[GiantEnemyLobster]

Is the National flag of the PS-tarded States of Sony

[incogneato]

First gays cry about stereotypes, now they want their stereotype potrayed in a game? LOL

[smturner68]

Is that you in that picture? Nice. Anyway, the point of the article wasn't some call to make more gay characters with stupid stereotypes. The story mentions the farmer's boy, who was gay, and the farmer didn't know it. It wasn't about the farmboy wearing a dress, or speaking with a lisp.

I don't see how this storyline would have ANY negative effect on anyone. It's just part of a bigger game and story. I think it's fine. I don't think the author wants to have anyone make an entire game out of it.

[Bigrhyno]

The homophobia in here is strong.

[incogneato]

Disagreeing with homosexuals or their lifestyle isn't homophobia. Only little kids believe this, which is why homosexuals target children with words like homophobia, bigot, etc. when trying to persuade people to support homosexuality.

People who disagree with homosexuality are very unlikely to be scared of it or hate it. This is just propaganda used by the gay community.

[TheTwelve]

Freedom of thought is not homophobia. Nice try. That only works in high school. As long as people are polite, they are allowed to disagree with you, actually, without being called names.

12

[Bigrhyno]

Just take a look at some of testies comments. He is essentially saying, I don't have anything wrong with homosexuals, but keep them away from me.

[Bigrhyno]

Many of these comments are not polite.

Just because they say no offense, doesn't mean they can just say anything they want without being offensive.

Look at Mercenarie's comment. He says no offense and then says

"besides who would actually play a game with a homosexual male lead character that has sex with every guy he comes across or shares his own detailed sexual stories? not me."

Wow, is that his view of how all homosexual males are?

[TheTwelve]

I agree he's being ignorant. Sadly, he's lumped in with all those who might disagree with how homosexuality is portrayed in media and society.

12

[Boty]

Does anyone play Gears Of War!!! GOD!

[Boty]

is gay. Why are they complaining.

[tplarkin7]

It's real simple folks...no sex outside of marriage. And marriage is between a man and a woman. This "coming out" business is a lie in attempt to justify perverted behavior.

[ambientFLIER]

Get your garbage out of here, preachie. God won't strike me down or send me to hell if I live every day being the best person that I can, helping my neighbors, being generous, and loving my parents, yet choosing to have sex before marriage.

[Scotracer]

Next time try and create your OWN opinion on something, not the opinion of a bunch of desert-dwellers from 2000 years ago. Talk about ass-backward...

You're one of the idiots (there is no other word for it) that believes homosexuality is a choice? If so, why would anyone choose to be a social pariah and be scared to let their true feelings be known? Also, did you make a conscious decision to be straight?

Religion will die in my life-time. I swear.

[Xi]

Not only the is the article well presented, it touches on a far greater thing then just "homosexuality in games".

It's a comment on whether or not games feature enough diversity to properly represent the the community which plays them. Take recent popular games, how many can you name that feature a leading role for minority. Hell, can people name any games where characters of a minority are portrayed in any way that isn't directly related to the sterotypical role, either positive or negative?

Aside from gears of war which features at least one of every steryotypical minority (mind you none of which are casted in any particularly 'good' ways), every game is casted with either:
1-white tough guy
2-Asian equivelent (which in most cases, ironically happens to be a female version of #1 without boobs)

As for the homophobia, wow, you are the type of tools who are ruining PSN/XBL with slurrs. I hope your proud of your minority bashing 'beliefs'.

ps, I know full well how ironic my comment about leads character design in asain games, as it to is sterotypical, it's a joke.

[panasonic23]

lol their plenty of gay games 1 god of war u play a homo who want revenge 2 mgs4 the only game i know that let u sneak up on a man just to feel his balls.3 smack down versus raw 2 dudes humping each other.

[rhood022]

I personally don't care if a character in a game is gay or not. Just like I don't care if a person is gay in real life. People are who they are or, in the case of games, who they are programmed to be. It's a complete waste of mental faculties to worry oneself with such insignificant matters.

As far as games go, I care if they are good or bad and if the story and gameplay are compelling and engrossing.

[panasonic23]

god of war is gay u play kratos a homo on a rampage trying to sleep with zeus nall i'm just playing for real mgs4 is the gayest game ever i mean u basically can just walk up to a n@gga with a gun and be like freeze drop the weapon turn around slow alright now let me feel your balls

[Queers of War]

not as gay as gears is. i mean, jesus christ, that game is a f*ckin c0ck fest. hence the name "queers of war"

[Ricdog]

What about lesbians, u guys are all just talking about gays in games but not lesbians. Why are u guys just saying u dont want male homosexuals in games but not females? Bunch of sexiests!

[PooEgg]

Agreed!

[austere]

the people on this site are gay enough

[QQcrybaby]

FFS no one cares who you sleep with at night. Find something interesting to blog about.

[Xi]

but this is intersting.

As video-games slowly develop into a popular medium, and more and more social commentary is portrayed in them, how we percieve our fellow human beings is far often overlooked. While that may not be important to you, it is to those that wish to see a more moral and equal soceity.

[Nihilism]

it's a shame that god fearing fools take so little time to appear and pit in their rusted useless and uninformed 2 cents. if you get my drift, as for the article itself gay people can do whatever the fu*< they want. But i don't want anything to do with it, and if game developers start making gay love scenes and or suggestive stuff in games to cater to the minority then i won't be buying...if psycho and nomad make out in crysis 2 i'm having a suicide party at my house, anyone care to join?

[rhood022]

So you didn't make a female character in Mass Effect and seduce the female alien Liara to see the "sex" scene?

Obviously you're still alive, so I'm gonna say that's a no.

[Nihilism]

if that was an insult i don't get it....i have no idea what you mean, mass effect sucked ( on pc) crappy port and lame lame boring combat, nice enough cut scenes but no i didn't see that

[Tony P]

I think games are "gay enough" since games are still considered to be (erroneously) a child's toy. And we can't even decide if our trained professionals should teach the existence of homosexuality in schools.

As for gay stereotypes...welcome to the party. We can't even get rid of Male/Female/Asian/Black/Hispan ic/French/British/Australian/e tc. stereotypes. Better luck in the future. :/

[Jeremy Gerard]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with being sickened by homosexual activity. If your straight its hard not to be, and most homosexuals will tell you they are quite disgusted by sex with women.

As long as you treat people with respect and dignity, you don't owe them much of anything else.

Don't let society tell you your "homophobic" just because the thought of guy on guy sex makes you gag. Nothing wrong with that, some people like to eat poop during sex, doesn't mean the rest of us can't be grossed out by it.

[PooEgg]

I am more sickened by your icon.

[Bigrhyno]

This comment is true. There's nothing wrong with not wanting to see or hear anything having to do with gay sex. It's when you take that attitude to gay people themselves when it's bad. And there's nothing wrong with his avatar :P.

[Xi]

she's fat, not symetrical, has celulite, and it looks like camel toe. The thong (or w/e those are) look dirty and she has no taste in clothing. Not only that you can't properly distinguish her age, for all you know its a picture of a minor. All of which sickens me.

[PooEgg]

What you don't seem to get is that you are showing no respect for women, that tells me that in your heart you must really dislike women, since men who like women have class enough not to post such a sexist and vulgar icon on a public forum. I mean at least have the decency to keep that crap to yourself, since women do come to this site and it is insulting to them. It is just as bad if someone had a icon of a guys package, since you say you are not gay you won't want to look at it, right? So everyone should respect what you like and dislike, but you should not extend the same respect to others?

PS: there is a reason you have so few bubbles, take a hint and buy yourself a little class.

[KidMakeshift]

Jeremy there's nothing wrong with your butt

You should wear a thong more often

[Keele]

LittleBigPlanet is gay.

Sackboy wants you to suck his sack.

[RadientFlux]

definitly not, hopefully Killzone 2 changes this with some hot-man love scenes

[KidMakeshift]

or maybe your character has to make out with the medic to replenish his health.

The right stick moves your characters tongue in his mouth, while the left stick controls your characters hands that are cradling the medics head.

Ah, I'll stop now while God's not listening. And by God, I mean Ann Coulter

[monkey602]

I'm extremelt tolerant of gays but I habe one golden rule. Dont bring any of that behaviour (for lack of a less offensive word) near me. I dont care what gay men get up to in their spare time, I just dont want to witness it. That definitely goes for my video games too.

I could be off the point here. To be honest I didnt read the article. Big wall off text about homosexuals is a no go for me.

[RadientFlux]

I have no problems with playing a gay character as long as it's not used as a cheap plot device or a way to make the game controversial.

[fezthabest]

This is stupid, im gay and i dont think games need to be gay, i dont think any gay gamers think while playing/not playing gears think "man wish marcus was gay" or "man wish this game was more gay friendly" . i mean sure if it was that way cool, but it wouldn't be that big of a difference, maybe to the more homophobic/i dont want nothing to do with homosexual crowd. I mean sure if the game was to go kill gay people then hell yeah it would matter. As long as the game is neutral or has nothing to do with homosexual content, which i think like 99% of the game out today is, its all cool.

[smturner68]

What's stupid is the response to the article. Of course, that's nothing new on this website. The commentary usually strays off the article referenced.

THERE WAS NO MENTION OF GAMES WITH GAY SEX IN THEM!! There was mention of having gay characters. I'm gay, everyone I know at work, knows I'm gay, but when I'm at work, I do my job. The gay character in a game, would do the same.

Nobody expects a major release to be about sex! Get real.

[ALL_STAR_28]

how many people would play a game with 2 men makin out. God made Men and Women to multiply and replenish the earth.... flame me if you want

[smturner68]

Ok, I'll answer your question, with another question to you. How many people would play a game with a man and a woman making out?

The answer would be, NOT MANY, if the gameplay only was about that! Or, if the actual core of the game sucked!

I think the best approach to please everyone, is to be able to choose the sex of your character. It has been done, and that's good enough. However, only when the game calls for it, or if it even fits the gameplay. On Fable, it works perfectly.

When I play Prince of Persia, I don't ever think, "I wish Elika was a prince with a big bulge instead of a princess!"

I wouldn't mind a hidden mini-game of Dom hammerin on Marcus, but I'm not gonna really expect it, or worry about it. Now, if you have a sense of humor, that wouldn't bother you.

Vulgar is vulgar, whether it's homo or hetero. That nasty icon of that woman's cameltoe is tasteless. If you guys can't handle an occasional gay character, that is NOT EVEN HAVING SEX, then you really need to gain some maturity. Nobody is asking you to condone 'gayness', but just realize that it's a fact of this world. Deal with it's existence. Nobody expects you to participate in sex that you don't enjoy. Also, nobody admires you for demonstrating your disgust for gay sex when the subject is a gay person or character in a non-sexual role.

[KidMakeshift]

Now lets man-hug

Anyways, until game developers actually learn how to write good stories involving only believable straight male characters (you know, one's who can say more than just "f@ck yeah' or 'black p@ssy") I think they should stray from incorporating gay themed stories, characters, etc.

[smturner68]

The average game story, plot, and character set is pretty far fetched. I think that games like Fable with mature developers and producers will be the exception to the rule, and so in these cases, having a homo or two done with taste is just fine.

Thinking about it now, the guy who talked about gay sex acts makes him want to puke is just bizarre. In real life, if you shot someone in the head(like many do in MANY videogames) you'd probably REALLY want to puke. I realize it's not the same thing, but anyway!

[Mutley416]

Dude some of the Asian games... as straight as a question mark...lol

Did you hear about the New Wii game...lol Hide the Wii mote... j/k LMAO-

[silverchode]

fable 2

[smturner68]

I know that some of you might not appreciate this, but the storyline mentioned in the article is familiar to me!

My boyfriend is a farmer. He lived with his momma on the farm until he met me(well into adulthood), and we moved in together three years ago(in our own house, not hers!) She wasn't too happy when she found out he was gay. It's hard for gay guys in little farm communities. In fact, the people he works with, and most of this community don't know, or they don't acknowledge that they are suspicious or any of that.

Now, see how NONE of that was about sex?

Hearing a story about other human conditions that affect their lives in a meaningful way, shouldn't garner freakouts of people that don't get the point. I watch movies all of the time about people that are completely different than me, and in totally different situations or predicaments. That doesn't mean that I can't empathize with hardships, or joys that they have. I guess that's all our 'agenda' really is. To have others treat us like fellow humans.

I'd expect anyone that I don't know, not to want to hear about my sexlife and it's details. No matter their sexual preference.

[JD_Shadow]

EXCELLENT points that I forgot to mention in my speech below, man. Bubbling you up.

[JD_Shadow]

Regardless of what ANYONE'S religion is, in my country (we have people from various other countries here, which is why I highlight my own), we should be AMERICAN first, and here, we have been amending our Constitutions (well, the state ones, anyway) to take away the right of marriage for homosexual couples (the Religious Right thinks it's protecting the sanctity of marriage, even though the divorce rates in this country (at least) have destroyed THAT LONG before the homosexuals could try, as if homos were in the first place). In (I believe it was) South Dakota, a VERY disgusting amendment was passed to prevent same-sex couples from adopting children (it's hard enough for those kids to get loving families to begin with. Sad that people would THINK of taking away that option because of their failed logic, and even sadder that some people would be that prejudiced enough to VOTE for that damn thing).

Thing is, freedom of religion means that the government cannot pass laws that infringe on your right to practice and believe what religion you want. This basically means that if this sanctity of marriage BS is from a Christian viewpoint, then sorry, it shouldn't even be brought into the House agenda.

The problem is that the Religious Right, like James Dobsion and Donald Wildmon, distorts and spins what the homosexuals that are asking for equal rights are asking for: To be treated as normal humans (because they ARE), and to not be looked down on and to not have people impose their beliefs on others. They try to spin this as "they want special rights". Uhh, NOOO!! They want the same rights we have, because...why should we give a rat's ASS who they sleep with? We're always saying "I don't want to hear about it, it's not my business" and all this other BS, yet we're going to be the first ones to vote YES for some of those outrageous amendments (by the way, I voted NO to that one that Ohio had in 2004...rather futile, though, but at least I made my voice heard). If it shouldn't be our business, then what the HELL are we making those laws? It MUST bother you in SOME way because you're voting for them. And if someone wants to talk about their same-sex partner in an everyday conversation like heteros do THEIR partners, then why should we stop them. That's called humanity and equality.

As far as this article goes, two words: The Sims. THAT game allows you to have same-sex couples, as well (I believe this was another point as to why Jack Thompson went after The Sims 2, as Jacko is also against homosexuality). That game has been allowing things like that for YEARS, but it never had the kind of storyline and social commentary that this thing in Fable 2 has. It's an ingenious and realistic storyline that Lionhead put into that and, besides the commentary being a good one, it's one of the many reasons why MS really needs Lionhead right now and is one of the few 1P studios that MS has that is really at the top of its game. They are geniuses and Fable 2 remains a key game that makes me WANT to get a 360.

Okay, off of my soapbox now...I THINK!

[Mutley416]

I think this is great...cause alot of people believe that in America you should have the freedom to be happy-

And don`t forget to Vote-

But I love gay humor...lol "Room`s Startin to spin from all the gayness" Ricky Bobby...lol